Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Bisti Badlands and Durango & Silverton Railroad, - October 2, 2025

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Bisti Badlands and Durango & Silverton Railroad, - October 2, 2025

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Bisti Badlands and Durango & Silverton Railroad, - October 2, 2025

I planned this trip for over a year, with the main goal of attending the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and finally taking a balloon ride. This would be my second time at the festival — but my first with digital cameras, which tells you just how long it had been! During the planning year, a local photography group scheduled a visit to the Bisti Badlands near Farmington, set for the week after the fiesta ended. At first I weighed going home for the week between and then heading back out, or skipping the fiesta altogether and just doing Bisti. In the end, I decided to stay in New Mexico for the extra week — since I work remotely, setting up shop at the hotel was an easy call.

Having those extra days opened up some great side trips. One long-standing bucket list item was riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and with Durango only about two hours north of Farmington, it was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, the website made no mention of track damage, so instead of riding all the way to Silverton, the train had to turn around at roughly the halfway point. I still enjoyed the ride, but for photography I think my earlier trip on the Cumbres & Toltec was the better experience.

The extra time also let me get out to Shiprock for several sunrises and sunsets — a real treat. Once the club members arrived, we headed out to Bisti early on the first morning, arriving an hour or so before sunrise to hike out to a formation before the light came up. The target formation was about a mile in, and the group made a beeline for it. They all arrived in time; I strolled in a bit after sunrise, which is on me — my usual style is to walk a little, shoot a little, not route-march to a destination. The hike back was much the same, with very little shooting along the way. Worth knowing if you plan a visit: Bisti has several entry points spread far apart, and the parking areas are a good distance from many of the named formations, so some planning ahead pays off.

Since I was heading home from Farmington anyway, I decided to take a different route and swing through Page to visit Canyon X, part of the Antelope Canyon complex. It's a less-visited section, and they offer a dedicated photographers' tour that allows tripods and gives you more time in each area. Our group was tiny — just me and two German photographers who were traveling together — which made for a wonderfully relaxed pace. Visiting in fall meant the light angle was quite different from my previous summer trip to Antelope Canyon, and Canyon X didn't show quite as much of the vivid wall color I remembered — likely down to that sun angle difference.

Videos

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta - we're off!

Durango, Colorado

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad - turn on sound for full effect